Which bank should I go to? (Canada)

Lurk

So, I am need of a new Bank (for student loans and such) and I am stuck between choosing CIBC or TD. There are more CIBC locations near me but for some reason TD seems more tempting. Maybe because I like the color green, who knows.

Anyone have advice on where I should go?

eternalbl

When I was like 15 I was in a laser tag league. Went to take out 10 bucks that had been in my TD savings account since forever for a game. They'd closed my damn account for inactivity and wouldn't give me the money.

Fuck TD

Just to explain - they could even see my account was closed with the cash in it. It was a kids account with no fees whatsoever, but still the best I could get from them was an apology.

Lail

If you're going for loans...go to whichever will offer you the lowest rate?

Serpent

Go to whichever bank you have friends working at, or family working at, or friends of family or etc etc etc.

Space Pickle

Can you not qualify for OSAP?

Papillon

TD is the only major bank which is open outside of 9-5, Monday to Friday, so you can actually go into the bank and talk to someone without taking time off work or going during lunch hour.

Lurk

I can't take OSAP for my first year due to some government stupidity. I will be able to get it after.

Entriech

My advice would be to open up a PC Financial account. No fees, good online access, and you'll be able to use the CIBC banking machines for free as well. Plus free groceries. Until I started working for Scotia, I maintained a PC account for around 5 years without a hitch. You can usually find a 'branch' for them in a nearby Zehrs, etc.

Edit: And if you're going to banks for loan purposes, go to all of them and see who'll give you the best rates. Even the ones that aren't local to you, you can still deal with. With most loans I find you don't need nearby access on a day to day basis. Most changes or questions can be handled via e-mail or over the phone.

Jeice

This is just a little thing to think about if all things between CIBC and TD are equal and you just need that one little thing to push you over the edge.

Which one is less busy?

Here in Toronto, there seem to be more TD's than CIBC's, but the TD's are alway crowded. No matter what day/time, the line is always so long. A friend of mine switched over to BMO, and has always loved the fact that there are no lines.

Aridhol

Fuck TD.

I use royal though I'm not terribly happy with them. A few friends use Scotiabank and have nothing but praise.

Lurk

I am going to do normal banking there as well. I'll go shop around for rates though.

SmallLady

I love scotia bank.



i've never had any problems with them. and i get scene card.

yay free movies!

DeadlySherpa

In my own anecdotal experience TD has better/clearer business service and hours, CIBC is better with account fees, and ING direct better interest for savings.

zeeny

CIBC or HSBC.

Edit: I should have read the OP. CIBC.

Mark L. Walberg

The only really good thing TD does is service... and by this, I mainly mean day-to-day, someone to talk to, helpfulness. They have the best hours by far for any bank, which can be a big deal. I have found, however, that they aren't anything special with respect to fees, charges, rates, etc.

I would recommend looking into what you can have offered for the rates for the loans you're going to get. That should be your biggest deciding factor. If they are both equal or close enough to it, I'd go with TD because it's sweet actually being able to get to the bank when they're open.

Proto

CIBC is garbage. They jerked me around so much (trying to set up accounts, online stuff, etc.) that I switched to TD a couple years ago.

TD has been great to me. The fact that they are open later hours is a huge, huge plus. They have been good to talk to as well. I found their online stuff better then CIBCs.